I did not enjoy my stay at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas but love going to breakfast in the Holborn Dining Room at Caroline Hunt's Rosewood, London, which is walking distance from my Barbican home. I am also a fan of their ex-Four Seasons Hotel Manager Michael Bonsor and so decided we must try their 'Art' afternoon tea.

I was so glad we did. This is a delicious & fun afternoon tea with informed & attentive staff, who do not rush you, in beautiful surroundings.

Rosewood, London

The main building of Rosewood, London is set back in its own courtyard, with a carriageway entrance, and a haven of calm sophistication.

​It is a Belle Epoque Edwardian building constructed for Pearl Assurance in 1914 and became a Rosewood hotel in 2013 (GBP85MN was spent on that transformation).

The cheerful staff in the Mirror Room seemed genuinely pleased to see me and used my name. I was taken to my table. and given water.

My friend was going to be 15 minutes late. I was assured this was not a problem by the staff and this gave me time to look at the menu (being impressed by the choice of teas) and assess the room. ​The Mirror Room

The Mirror Room has floor to ceiling mirrors on the walls & also mirrors on the ceiling above the ceiling lights. I had read it is a jewel-box design but I think it is too large for this description to apply. However, it is a very elegant space and a perfect environment in which to feast on afternoon tea.

​My friend does not eat avocado or drink tea or coffee. There was no problem replacing the avocado or providing her with hot chocolate. I picked the lemongrass & ginger tea which was aromatic and refreshing.

The avocado & tomatoes sandwich was my favourite with the tangy strong flavour of basil and my friend loved the ham & cheese sandwich but admitted the Gruyere des Comte cheese was a strong flavour.

​We, once again, made the mistake of ordering more sandwiches and regretting this when we felt bloated and still had the pastries and scones to go.

The Banksy cake honours iconic 'Girl with a Balloon' and was a white chocolate cube filled with eclair like vanilla cream pastry dough, salted caramel & chocolate pudding and garnished with a miniature replica of the legendary artwork. We both adored this moreish dessert, who does not love salted caramel.

Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama's pastry was a milk chocolate mousse with passion fruit creme & a chocolate crispy wafer on a chocolate shortbread biscuit covered in bright yellow glaze & her famous polka dots. The taste of the passion fruit really came out and it was deliciously refreshing.

Damian Hirst

Damian Hirst's pastry was a white chocolate tart flavoured with a sweet liqueur jelly & yuzu curd and finished with Hirst's dot decoration. We both loved the citrus flavour.

Alexander Calder​Alexander Calder's pastry was aimed to be evocative of his famed mobiles. It was pistachio Bavarian cream, cherry jelly & pistachio sponge glazed with red chocolate. We both enjoyed this interesting dessert.

Neither of us are keen on coconut but I tried it and the fresh coconut flavour was far better than I expected.

The Finest Black Tea In The World

​With these desserts I drank Keemun Gong Fu tea, which is said to be the finest black tea in the world. This clean & strong taste was a perfect accompaniment to all these sweet cakes, mousses & tartes.

​Because the second drinks took some time we were given a complimentary glass of Ruinart champagne, which was very sweet of the staff.

Scones with Clotted Cream & Lemon Curd

There were freshly baked scones with clotted Cornish cream and homemade strawberry jam but, after all we had eaten, we could not do these justice. However, we both agreed the tart lemon curd that came with them was brilliant.

🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻(6 out of 5 ‘teddies’) - the informative, friendly & helpful staff; beautiful hotel; basil flavoured sandwich; delicious & inventive pastries; and extra glass of Ruinant champagne broke the 'teddy score'. This afternoon tea has all you could want for one in London. My tip:- do not eat too many sandwiches, so you can properly enjoy the pastries & fresh baked scones.

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The impressive carriageway entrance to the hotel. The Holborn Dining Room, where I love to have breakfast, is on the left.

Pearl (get the historical reference with the hotel dog's name?) relaxes in the stunningly beautiful lobby.

The miniature replica of Banksy's 'Girl with a Balloon' artwork on the corner of the white chocolate cube; Alexander Calder's pastry aimed to be evocative of his famed mobiles & glazed with red chocolate behind on the left; and Yayoi Kusama's pastry covered in bright yellow glaze & her famous polka dots to the right.

Mark Rothko's use of colour was represented by the bright pink raspberry chocolate plaque that adorned a layered coconut & raspberry sponge to the left & Damian Hirst's citrus pastry was a white chocolate tart flavoured with a sweet liqueur jelly & yuzu curd and finished with Hirst's dot decoration to the right.

This photo shows the sheer scale of the Mirror Room with it divided between a 'lounge' & dining area.

The fireplace in the Mirror Room was rather different to that which I expected but still impressive.

This photo, as we were leaving, shows the impressive scale of this elegant hotel in the centre of London.

Lucky you Simon, you got to meet Pearl! The dog crazy in me is very jealous...

Lovely article as always :)

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The Authors

Si Frew has lived in the UK, Bermuda, Qatar, Cyprus & the Cayman Islands. During this time he met Whoopi Goldberg (in Claridge's), Mike Tyson (in the Concorde Lounge at JFK) , Gordon Ramsay (in the Doha Four Seasons), Chris Eubanks (in The Dorchester), Cherie Blair (in Bermuda & again in the Doha Four Seasons) etc. There are funny stories attached to all these interactions, feel free to ask Si about them when you meet him.

Simon is a banking regulator who was trained by the Bank of England and is currently working as a Banking Consultant, living in the Cayman Islands.

He loves Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Dorchester and Veuve Clicquot.

IssyIssy is a Beanie Baby who was a gift from the Founder of Four Seasons' office. He is Simon's regular travelling companion & confidant. ​He experiences luxury in life and little else. It is Issy who guides Si through some of his more entertaining adventures.